The van's tires crunched over gravel as they turned off the main road, plunging into a dense thicket of pine trees. Shihab watched through the window as sunlight filtered through the branches in fractured beams, casting shifting patterns across the forest floor. The air smelled of damp earth and pine resin, a stark contrast to the acrid smoke of the city they'd left behind.
After twenty minutes of winding through increasingly narrow paths, the trees parted to reveal a sturdy log cabin nestled in a small clearing. The structure was larger than Shihab expected, with a wraparound porch and smoke curling lazily from a stone chimney. Solar panels lined part of the roof, and a well-maintained vegetable garden stretched along one side.
Jawad killed the engine and turned in his seat. His dar
